


How He Shows It

by HK44



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Love, M/M, Sweet, experiences, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-21 23:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14925329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HK44/pseuds/HK44
Summary: The words “I love you” did not fall easily from Damian’s lips. He was like his father in that way. But he showed his love, his care, in simple ways, hidden ways, nearly invisble.But Dick knows.He sees them.





	How He Shows It

The words “I love you” did not fall easily from Damian’s lips. He said it in private to his animals, low in the night when his spirit was down and he believed he was alone in his room, alone in the cave, alone in tall grass outside stretching the planes of the manor.  But never to a person. Not so much that he even cared either.

He was like his father that way.

Instead, he showed his love, his easy care in quiet ways, better than Bruce ever could and more like Talia, who left gifts in the form of knives and paints and foods Alfred could never quite get down.

Early editions, rare books, signed copies and elaborate essays left on Jason’s bedside. His room, his safehouse meticulously tidied, baskets and boxes he didn’t remember buying, owning, stacked and labelled, guns cleaned out and reloaded. Warm sheets after long nights where Robin wasn’t there or left early on orders. Clean clothes and a stocked fridge of fruits, vegetables and cooked meals packaged away.

Some days, sometimes months spanning between them but frequent in any sense, Alfred would awake to a clean house, every nook, every cranny wiped down and sparkling, to Damian smelling of deep antiseptic with hollow eyes like his father, to new plants in the greenhouse, in the garden. Tickets to shows, to musicals tucked away in between the morning paper. Colourful wigs left hanging in his closet. Amazing that such a strict boy could have a sense humor, especially when his father lacked one to his core.

Cass earned plants to fill the space in her room, potted and green and calming. New ballet clothes she could never locate from any store, ones that appeared the morning before Damian graced her presence, fingers nicked with minute wounds no one else seemed to notice. Beautiful paintings appeared of places she missed. Titus left in her bedroom when the door had been closed the whole time, always on days she felt low, never any time otherwise.

Coffee, evidence Tim couldn’t quite find and a new phone suspiciously appearing at his desk minutes after he’d dropped the last one, broken it or submerged it in a bowl of cereal. His bike cleaned, fixed, tires repumped. Pockets and packs refilled with necessary tech. Favours grumbly called in for mindless tasks, simple things, a clearing of the mind.

Salves for her legs, raw, sometimes burned, from the skin of her chair and her hands, some days aching, especially in the beginning. A new chair even, more expensive than Barbara could care to invest in, but fancy, with a comfortable backing, soothing on her muscles. No more static electricity and nicer storage space. Umbrellas held high over her head, even when it means he gets drenched. No words, no comments, just kindness. It’s surprising.

Stephanie’s suit found it fixed up before she could even get it to the cave, to Alfred. Custom toys, dolls, art, of her in her Robin suit, almost like she’d never been a blip in the line-up. Outstanding school loans paid off right before the deadline passes. Strange comments left on her kitchen counter, informing her that “she’s doing well” and “her school is adequate”. It doesn’t take her long to understand what it means. She’s happy.

His quiet care fills their lives with simple calm and easy warmth, so invisible it’s not always caught. Easy ways to voice his appreciation in the only way he can.

But sometimes in the silence of the air and under the warmth of his skin, he’ll whisper it. When he thinks no one can hear him. As though embarrassed.

Ashamed to feel so strongly.

The first time it was in the quiet of the night, when he was nearly asleep, he heard it.

“I love you.”

It wsas spoken into his skin, almost muffled but clear as day to Dick’s ears in any sense. Damian shifted, buried himself deeper into Dick’s back and whispered it again. Like a secret.

Like a mark he was trying to embed into Dick’s skin.

“I love you.”

Dick shivered and rolled around into him. Damian’s eyes were dark, a jaded green, and wide. Not surprised. After years he had to have known Dick’s sleeping patterns, how he breathed, how he calmed unconscious and unconcerned with the world, unable to do a thing.

Years.

So many years.

And Dick knew already. Knew it when Damian stormed into his apartment one night, demanding he take back the cowl, upset, unfamiliar with Bruce’s ways. He knew it in the way Damian laid out his clothes in the morning, how he threw himself into any sign of danger headed Dick’s way. He knew it from the cadence of Damian’s tone when they spoke in private, together, alone, how he calmed the moment Dick appears, how he shifted towards him out of instinct, never seeming to notice.

How he kissed every scar.

Dick knew.

He’d never not known.

“Samesies,” he laughed and Damian scowled, burying himself closer. Dick ran a weary hand through his hair. “Leech.”

“Yes,” Damian agreed, voice muffled into Dick’s chest.

He locked an arm over Dick’s waist, pressed close. His eyes glinted over Dick’s side, where Duke laid, asleep long before they crawled in together. Dick rolled onto his back, let Damian slip over onto him and reach out for Duke’s hand. Duke jerked, light, eyes fluttering over and gazing at them before a happy smile slid slow and sleepy over his mouth. He rolled into Dick’s side, sighing softly.

He said no words and fell back to sleep.

And Damian pulled Duke’s hand to his mouth and kissed his palm gently, silently whispering, “I love you.”

Like it was a secret.

But Dick knew.

He’d seen it in how Damian pressed deeper into’s Duke side when Duke tucked him in close. In the way he reached for Duke’s hand. How he kissed his palm soft and quick, always shy when it came to affection but wanting to express it anyway he could. Dick saw it in the way they argued, fast and hard, but never angry. Never volatile. Damian was expressive, reactive. He tried not to be when it came to Duke, knew it upset him, concerned him. Dick saw it, clear as day, in the way Damian left Duke notes, sent him silly texts. The crossword puzzles, personalized and growing harder every day. Soft looks, soft gazes, laughter.

Dick knew.

He knew.

And he knew Duke knew.

Duke’s face softened further, his breathing not yet lulled but close. “Hmm?” he murmured, eyes fluttering behind their lids. His thumb stroked over the back of Damian’s hand.

Damian shifted closer, pulled half over Dick’s body and his face hovering over the space between Dick and Duke’s heads. His eyes were pressed close, his body trembling, his hand still clutched to Duke’s.

No shame. No embarrassment.

He’d just never said it before. Only shown it. Only expressed it in the quiet careful ways he could. And it was enough.

It was always enough.

Dick wrapped an arm around him as Duke shook his head and let go of Damian’s hand to stroke quietly, sleepily, over Damian’s cheek. And he was silenced as Duke pulled him close. As they held him.

“You don’t need to say it,” Dick whispered. “We know.”

Duke echoed an agreement. Damian watched them, watching him, careful, eyes dark, always watching, always dark, always  _knowing_. Finally, he relaxed into their holds and buried his face in Dick’s chest.

They knew.

He knew.

Love, love, love. Quiet and soft.

The three of them needed nothing more.

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to try something new. I’ve been a very bad slump since the end of May. This didn’t really help but it was nice to write something simple and sweet. Let me know how you liked it.
> 
> [Tumblr](happyk44.tumblr.com/) || [Other Links](https://linktr.ee/hk44_art)


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